Reverberating Cries
by SonamyGirll12
Summary: Running was always a nice get away for Sonic, but what happens when he starts to use it as a get away from his pain? Things are left unsaid, a relationship is torn, and a certain pink hedgehog doesn't know what to think. Sonic knows that he needs to figure out his feelings...quickly. EDIT: changed summary
1. Showing No Weakness

"…_Sonic, do you love me or not…?"_

Her words were still ringing in my head, banging at the insides, torturing me nonstop.

I couldn't answer her. She had hit me hard and fast with that question, and I had no answer to shield me.

I wasn't use to being cornered like that. Especially with a question that only contained six words…

So I had done something that I usually did in a position like that…

…I ran.

I ran far away from that place…far away from her. But the further I ran, the more my heart started to ache.

I wasn't thinking clearly. _I must not have to have done such a terrible mistake like that! _

After all that I've done to her…I just had to make it even worse by running away from my troubles.

Every pounding of my heart felt like a knife stabbing me. It felt like I was _dying_.

My body became so heavy, so slow. I felt like I wasn't even moving, like the whole world was moving on without me. Eventually I'd be left behind, alone in the cold.

I can hear a couple of screams as people are startled by my appearance. I'm not looking where I'm going; I'm not even guided by sight anymore, only by speed.

Mi mind was moving quicker than my feet could handle and I stumble a couple of times as I enter a field of tall grass. _Where was I going? Did it matter? What even mattered anymore?_

Birds scatter in panic as I speed past them. Wherever I was going my feet weren't getting me there quick enough and I start to enter supersonic speed. I knew I was being totally reckless, but I just wanted the pain the stop. Maybe if I could go fast enough I could just leave this place. Just the thought of having to face her again made me sick and perturbed. Maybe I could…maybe I could…

Maybe I could stop… I needed to stop thinking.

I didn't know how long I ran for; I didn't even know when I stopped.

I just knew that this wasn't an ordinary kind of pain that I'd get from a battle with Eggman. This was more insane and inhuman than that. It literally felt like my heart had split. It was so incomprehensible that I drove myself mad that night, desperately trying to figure out how to stop that pain; where to get my heart back.

But then I realized I left it back thousands of miles ago, with that unanswered question.

* * *

><p>Entering Mobius, my energy starts to drain. I suddenly feel weak and tired. My stomach was aching, but I couldn't bother to eat. I dragged my feet across the ground as I neared an abandoned table next to a small café. It was still raining, maybe even a little harder than before, so no one was around me. I was alone, cold, and numb, but it wasn't much different from what I've been feeling these past months. The memory was still haunting me, controlling my emotions. I knew that I should have gone back to her that day, but I didn't. I felt too ashamed to face her. If only she could know…if only I had answered her question instead of running off without giving an answer.<p>

If only I controlled the hands of time.

The migraine that I had for two weeks now started to worsen and I held my head in agony.

How'd I end up like this; always feeling so empty, so lonely? Not even fighting Eggman was much fun anymore. All I think about is her. I have constant fantasies about being with her again, and I actually feel happy…happier than I've felt in months. But then reality hits me harder than a ton of bricks, and I realize that I've waited too long. Now, she's not mine anymore and I'm left with a broken heart that is consuming me every day.

I sneeze a couple times and can immediately feel a cold starting to overshadow me , as if I didn't feel sick enough already. I know that I should be dragging my butt home, but my energy has faded along with all my hopes and dreams of her ever giving me a one hundred and thirty-second chance to make things right with her.

In the distance I hear the clock tower chiming away, signaling that it was 5:00. The cheerfulness of the bell's sound waves as they make their way towards me are repelled by my depressed aura. To me, they sound like cymbals.

I probably would have rotted away here if it weren't for the fact that I'm supposed to be at Castle Acorn by 5:10, going over the arrangements for this Fall Dance that Bunnie somehow convinced everybody to take part in. Sally would kill me if I wasn't there. But the worst part is that there's a high chance of _her _showing up there because she's supposed to help Mina with the party decorations, and I don't think I'd be able to make it if she shuns me the entire time. The whole image starts slowly unraveling itself in my head, and is quickly consuming what was left of me. Dark clouds start inhabiting my head, my thoughts. I can't think and all I feel is pain.

_It's happening again..._

I need to run. I need to run _now_.

So, I force my feet to hold me up as I start off with a jog before I go off at my trademark speed.

And I can still hear the sound of her soft cries reverberating in the wind.

* * *

><p>This is worse than I thought it'd be. I slouch in the foldable chair I found, my heart sinking with every time her greens eyes look in this direction, staring right past me. She is indeed here, but she hasn't looked at me once. And to make matters worse, <em>she's<em> with _him_. Every time I see them in the same place with each other now, I get all tense and livid. He doesn't deserve her, and I hate him for thinking that he does.

"Sonic, would you get your lazy self over here and actually _help_ me for once?" Mina snaps at me, standing with one hand of her hip and the other holding a pretty long piece of paper.

I give Amy and Mighty one last long glance before going over to her.

"Sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it. I needed you to go get these supplies for me ten minutes ago!"

"Why can't you go get em'? You're almost as fast as me."

"Because I don't think you know how to lace forty-seven ribbons of every curtain, take the time to count all the guest that are coming, or embroider a fall leaf on all the napkins!"

"What's the point? People are just going to wipe their mouths on it anyway…" I give her this blank look as she stares at me like I had just said that 2+2 was 15. I'm really not in the mood to deal with this right now so I solemnly take the list of things from her hand in defeat.

"Okay fine! But could you please tell me why Amy isn't the one doing this for you?"

She sighs heavily, like she's gone through this with me a hundred times, "Mighty needed a partner to help him figure out the placements of the tables and Amy offered to help."

My hand clenches the paper a little tighter, almost ripping it._ Who needs a partner for table placements?_

Not noticing my sudden rage Mina continues to talk.

"So since you were the only one that wasn't doing anything too important, Amy suggested that you should be my partner."

I'm about to ask if I could go get some air (spy on Amy some more) but Mina turns me around and starts to quickly shove me towards the door saying, "Now would you just go?", and before I even have time to talk I'm already out the ball room, alone in the emptiness and darkness of the hallways.

_I hate being alone now._

* * *

><p>For some reason this castle has, like, about a hundred rooms in it and I promise you that Sally doesn't even realize it. I always told her that she probably didn't even know that the castle had a second floor if it weren't for me telling her, and then she makes up an excuse like "Saving Mobius is more important than knowing how many rooms are in my house", which I know is true, but then later on I had sometimes found her walking randomly around the place, amazed at how many rooms she didn't even know existed.<p>

So after that, Sally started to fill more of the rooms to keep them from looking wasted, and decided to make a random room _way_ back in the castle the supply closest. And the thing is that there is no sign on the door yet so I have to search through at least ten other doors before I actually find the thing. But soon enough I find it and start looking for the things that Mina so desires.

I'm only half reading it though. My mind is racing over so many questions that it's making it really hard to concentrate. I wasn't ready to come back. I wasn't ready to see her. And I defiantly wasn't ready to see her talking and laughing with him like I never was even in the picture. The pain that I was so desperately trying to avoid was starting to creep up on me again. And I needed to get out of this place before I can't stand it anymore so I grab all the stuff from the list I can find and dash right off….

….knocking right into someone on the way into the ball room. We both collapse on the ground from the impact, items falling all around us.

"Oh, man! I-I'm so sorry!" I'm all frazzled and dizzy as I search for all the items that I dropped.

"It's… It's okay, Sonic…"

That voice. It's so familiar.

I look up and freeze, dropping the items. And there she is. Right here, right in front of me. I'm in shock as I stare at her. We haven't been this close to each other in so long, and she looks great. Immensely great. Her hair has gotten longer, plus now that I'm close to her I can see that she even curled the ends.

_I want to run my fingers through it so badly…_

"Amy…" I breathed.

I haven't said her name in what seems like forever.

_Four months, three days, and six hours to be exact._

She just smiles at me. The smile that I've been seeing in my dreams and everywhere I look. I can't help but smile back and say, "…You look great." and suddenly my mind clears up and I forget why I was in so much pain in the first place.

Her cheeks turn rosy and her eyes break away from mine.

"T-thanks." She grabs the stapler that is in-between us and hands it to me, "Looks like you dropped this, along with the other 20 items."

I chuckle a little as I take it from her hand. Our fingers brush and my heart soars.

"Yeah… Mina went a bit overboard with the list."

She smirks, "Doesn't she always?"

We're both just looking at each other right now, smiling, and for a minute it feels like nothing happened. It's like we were still those two hedgehogs you'd find walking around Mobius, holding hands.

_It's like we were still those two hedgehogs four months ago._

So I'm actually mustering up the nerve to ask her if she wants to hang out sometime because I've missed her so much. The way she laughed at all my jokes, no matter how corny… her beautiful emerald eyes, staring at me with so much hope….

Yeah, I'm going crazy without her.

But suddenly the sound of Mighty's voice calling out to Amy from the other side of the room breaks me from my trace.

And the moment's over.

I watch in disappointment as Amy stands up and she says something to Mighty but reality is impaling me so badly right now that I'm not paying attention to anything else.

Just the fact that thefour months are gone_, and that she's with someone else._

She turns back to me, with a "Sorry, but I have to go." expression on her face and I force myself to nod, showing that I understand…

…_And that I'm totally not disappointed that you're leaving me to be with a guy that doesn't even love you as much as I do._

"Nice talking to you Sonic…"

"Yeah… you too."

Then she's gone.

Plus, Mina has just found me with all the items on the floor and she's nagging me non-stop. But I'm only focusing on Amy right now.

And what _should've_ happened between us…

* * *

><p>The radio is on and a song from my favorite band starts to play.<p>

I grab my remote and instantly crank it up a couple notches or so, making it so loud that I can barely hear myself think.

That's exactly what I want.

The beat of the drum and the fast pace tempo calms me in a way; It reminds me of running, my only comfort at a time like this.

**_"Your heart beats so close to me_**

**_it's supposed to be mine to keep_**

**_and so I worry..._**

**_Cause I try my best to be_**

**_on my feet, hope to see_**

**_you'll be there for me..._**

**_i put your name on my chest..._**

**_you put these words in my head..._**

**_do I know if what i'm doing's right?..."_**

By this time I'm already singing my heart out with the main vocalist. He's the closest person to understanding how I feel right now. The guitarist is rocking and the backup singers are following but only him and I value the true meaning of the lyrics.

**_"And Oh I hope I know what's right cause..._**

**_We might only have one night to..._**

**_Take all these chances, have my questions answered..._**

**_Do I know if what I'm doing is right? ..."_**

But the music isn't loud enough and my mind overpowers it without effort.

Amy and I use to listen to this band. She loved it, and I loved it. Many times we would just go out walking, listening to them on my I-pod, one ear bud in each of our ears. I would sing the main part and she would do backup. She was an awesome backup. We were joking around at the time, but we loved their songs so much that we decided to call them our band. I can still remember.

"_Our band…" Amy had placed her finger on the tip of her chin, thinking about it. After a while she finally looks at me and says, "I like that" and then she beams at me. _

I can still remember how happy she looked. I always wanted to keep her looking that happy because her smile could brighten anyone's day. I especially wanted her to be happy around me.

_But I messed that up a long time ago…_

**_"From the start i promised to_**

**_care for you and it's true..._**

**_i'm only human..._**

**_so this part is sad but true..._**

**_look at you i can't do_**

**_a thing cause screwing_**

**_up on my best..._**

**_i could not get to rest..._**

**_and i don't know if what i'm doing's right?"_**

_They say the pain will stop… but when? And what if I don't want it to stop? Because then I'd be over her, but I __**don't want to get over her**__…_

_**"And Oh I hope I know what's right cause...**_

_**We might only have one night to...**_

_**Take all these chances, have my questions answered...**_

_**Do I know if what I'm—?"**_

The radio is off now. And my heart hurts worse than before.

* * *

><p>My feet felt like bricks in the receding mud beneath them, and the falling rain felt like needles above me. The mist made the road ahead of me imperceptible, leading me down to what seemed like nowhere. Everyone was gone, everything was quiet. It felt as if the whole world had ditched me, only to leave a small parting gift of rain that never ended.<p>

I tilted my head up slowly to the sky, secretly cursing the clouds. It had practically been raining all week, and I started to wonder why I even came out the house. The rain took the advantage and started striking harder. We were mortal enemies.

The little green scarf on my head was struggling to do its job of shielding me from the drops. It was so worthless, but it was all I had.

The café Knuckles told me about was in distance and as I walk through the entrance the aroma of various dishes attack my senses.

"Look what the cat just dragged in." says Knuckles

Tails smiles and waves at me as I sit down next to him. Shadow gives me nothing more than a mere glance. They all already have their choices of drink in front of them, and seeing by the waitress that is looming over Knuckles I'm guessing that they've already ordered.

"Is that all sir?" the waitress is holding the writing pad in front of her face to cover her blush. She's obviously attracted to Knuckles.

"Actually, how about a chili dog supreme for my man over there Everything on it."

She giggles, flipping her golden hair to the side, "Of course. Anything to drink?"

She's still looking at Knuckles, asking him the question like I'm mute and can't order a drink for myself.

"A water would be fine." I say, grasping both or their attentions. The girl nods and writes this down, sneaking glances at Knuckles the whole time before walking off to give out the order.

"Wow Knuckles," Tails says, "Do you like her or something?"

Knuckles gives us a smirk, his cheeks turning all colored, "Well, she's cute and all but I've already got a date for that whole fall dance thing."

I nearly choke on my own saliva. Shadow gives me a questioning glance but doesn't say anything.

"I-I thought you weren't going." I manage to mutter.

He shrugs, blushing even harder. He grabs his drink and sips it quickly. "Yeah, well, you know. Things change."

Oh yeah. I _would_ know.

"So," Tails continues," who's the lucky girl?"

"Like I'd tell you. That'd ruin the surprise." He then sneers, trying to make the rest of us envious no doubt.

Knuckles was practically beaming, but my anger was rising. He was my only ticket to having a reason _to not go_ to the stupid dance. I couldn't just stay home! That'd be way too lame. I'd ask Tails but he already promised Sally that he'd help with the lighting and other electronics.

The only person left was Shadow.

No way in heck would I ask him.

"What about you Sonic?" Knuckles asks, also noticing the waitress from before carrying our orders.

"What about me?" I take my drink from the waitress' tray and immediately gulp some down. I try to act casual and oblivious to the question he was asking me. "I was just waiting on my drink…"

Everyone knew about Amy and I's breakup. I mean, after about two weeks she started hanging out with Mighty and everyone knew how that would turn up. Whenever I come around everyone seems to stop their conversations just to give me sympathetic glances. I can't even pass Mighty without everyone holding their breath (granted the tension between us is so tangible you can cut a knife through it). So when I got the call from Knuckles saying he wanted me to hang out with them, I knew that 'wanted' meant "needed" and 'hang out' meant "to contemplate".

As the waitress is placing the food orders in front of everyone I can already tell where this conversation was going, but I wasn't ready to face the truth—that I _wasn't going to the dance because I had no one to go with. _The truth hurt, but when does it not? If it weren't for the fact that they've already paid for my order, I would have already been up, over, and gone out of this place.

Knuckles gives a small smile to the waitress, sending her off all flustered and giddy before turning back to me.

"You know since Amy is…"

"Sonic," Tails interrupts, knowing Knuckles' lack of consoling all too well. He lays a placid hand on my shoulder, causing me to jump from the contact. "Sonic, what we're trying to say is that we're a little bit worried about you. You've been acting really…dejected lately…"

His eyes stare at mine with apprehension and my heart drops at the concern I was giving him. The thought of worrying Tails, or any of my friends, was like sticking a needle in my side. For my whole life, I fought to avoid this.

I couldn't stop now.

Immediately my cocky, confident side started to emerge, and my words are on autopilot.

"'Dejected'?" I rub Tails' head, messing up his hair a bit. "What is this foreign word you address to me?" I force a smile and take a bite out of my chilidog. The taste is still lost to me.

I try to sound normal.

"Dude, now _this_ is a chilidog!" I take another bite and a another gulp of water. I wasn't even hungry in the first place.

Knuckles stared at me skeptically, and I could tell that Tails and Shadow were immediately onto my façade. I guess it was time to bump it up a notch.

"Guys, guys! Seriously, it's no sweat. I'm still going to the dance! I even started writing that song that Sally wanted me to do for it." I roll my eyes like their concern was worthless to me. "Take a chill pill and enjoy the food." I take another bite. My stomach was starting to hurt.

They start to exchange glances, and I start to get a little worried. I couldn't let them realize the actual pain I was feeling. It just didn't seem right for me, Sonic the hedgehog, to be expressing his feeling to others. I could handle myself, always had. I had a boundary for when people wanted to get close to me and I liked the distance. I mean, a hero…

A hero shouldn't express himself openly. A hero _couldn't._ It wasn't in his nature. That would be showing weakness, and weakness was not to be tolerated when a whole planet counted on you.

…_right?_

Of course…right.

Tails takes up his fork and sighs, "Alright Sonic, if you say so."

This was some kind of signal for Knuckles and Shadow to lay off, and they immediately start to eat.

I start to breath smoothly again.

Talking wasn't awkward after that, surprisingly. We laughed, and teased (except Shadow, of course) and acted like nothing was wrong. For a moment, I felt…well, content. It felt nice to have my mind elsewhere for a while.

But I knew in the back of my mind that I'd have to leave, and go back to being alone.

A part of me wanted to tell them…to tell them that I couldn't be alone, not yet. But, what kind of hero would I be if I were to break down like that? Even when everything looked bleak in a battle, I didn't break down.

There wasn't a difference between then and now.

* * *

><p>After lunch, I immediately go home. You'd think that being, well, <em>me<em> that I'd have a lot more to do than to just _go home_…but to tell the truth, I actually don't. I've been so miserable lately that all the fun things in life have lost their value and color to me. Even chilidogs have lost their taste. My days now just consist of mobbing and my parents calling me, asking if I'm sick or something and then having to argue with them for about ten minutes that I'm fine and that I just want to be alone.

Then I realize that being alone is the one thing that I don't want and I start missing Amy all over again, running through plans of trying to get her back over in my head so many times that I just give up on all of them. This whole process takes up most of my days so I usually end up being too tired to do anything else.

I'm laying in my bed now, and this whole act just sickens me to the core. I'm starting sicken myself actually. How lame is this? Why is it that Amy can go about like I don't even exist when she's all I think about? I need to do something, anything, to get her off my mind. If she can move on, then obviously I can too, right?

I sit up irritably, being just the thought of doing nothing was driving me insane.

_Or maybe the thought of Amy doing fine without me was driving me insane…_

I suddenly hear a splat on the floor next to my bed. I looked down to see that it was my song book. It must have fell after I vigorously sat up. I lean over and picked it up, suddenly having the urge to write. Maybe writing could be my gateway to peace. I always felt a little more at ease when I wrote.

I flip through to see several excerpts of failed attempts to make a song and a couple of full length ones. To be honest, I haven't even started the song I was supposed to sing at Sally and Bunnie's little get together, and I only had three days left. I guess the logical thing to do would to start now, but I wasn't in the mood to write a happy song.

I suddenly remember that I have a music gig tonight and I sigh in distress. Mina and her band requested me to sing with them at The Tune because Mina's voice was a little hoarse due to their last performance. That was last week, so I already had a song and melody planned out. I've practiced it with The Forget Me Knots several times since then, but I guess it couldn't hurt to go over it one last time by myself. Conveniently, my acoustic guitar was leaning on the desk next to my bed and I grab it apathetically.

"Let's just get this over with…"

* * *

><p>Song used is What's Right by The Title<p> 


	2. Mental Battles

_**The first little bit is in Amy's P.O.V just to give you an idea about her views on the situation so far. I might do that at the start of every chapter from here on out. Enjoy.**_

* * *

><p>"Okay guys, that'll do it for today! We appreciate all of your help," Sally announces, "We'll meet up tomorrow; same time," Everyone acknowledges this and smile at how the party preparations were almost finished. "Remember, only three more days!" She opens the castle doors, concluding the meeting; I'm the first one out the door. My feet are practically running, but I'm still feeling as if I'm not going anywhere.<p>

I can't believe he talked to me. I knew I shouldn't have come to the meeting. I thought that partnering him up with Mina would keep him away, but we always seem to run into each other; this time literally.

I can still remember everything that happened in full detail. The feeling of his aura; the way he made me laugh…how he said I looked great.

I haven't been that close to him in so long… and there are obvious reasons for that.

All the memories that I tried so hard to lock away started to resurface again. How could this happen? I even had a set plan for how I was going to get over him! I stopped talking to him; I stopped seeing him; I stopped thinking about him. I locked, burn, and tore every single memory of him, practically throwing my feelings for him into a safe and swallowing the key. This took me four months to complete! Yet, in just a couple of minutes, he broke that safe so effortlessly, almost naturally. That smile; those eyes…his weapons were so superior over mine.

When we were talking for those few minutes I remember thinking, 'what was I even mad at him for anyway?'. Yes, for that instant of talking to him I was actually beginning to doubt my overall judgment of leaving him. The thought of leaving him truly seemed insane and idiotic to me at that moment. And when he smiled, laughing at my joke about Mina, I thought 'surely I must have been stupid…'.

It was then that Mighty had called me, and it felt like I had been broken free from a spell.

Mighty reminded me as to why I wasn't with Sonic. BecauseSonic is callous.

He's self-centered; impulsive; rude. And he is totally reckless.

I mean, those are more than enough reasons to never be with a guy, so me never wanting to see him again was totally logical, right?

Then why am I really disappointed that I couldn't have talked to him longer?

No. I wasn't going to let him get to me again. I couldn't, I just couldn't.

And the worst part about it…? Sonic has practically had a romantic relationship with every girl in the freedom fighters, so there was no one I could truly open up to about this. The closest person I could talk to would be Mina, but even she was infatuated with Sonic at one point; it would be too awkward.

For the first time, in a long time, I felt very alone, and I was in desperate need to vent.

I reach into my shoulder bag and pull out my phone. I stare at it for a while, wondering if I should really make the move. Every time I'm about to press the first digit, I hesitate and go back to staring at the screen; My fingers circle the keypad for a while.

I know that if I don't make this call, I'm going to be driving myself insane tonight…along with many more nights. I've been through this stage before. Now that Sonic was back in my mind, he wasn't going to go away. The last thing I needed was to keep everything inside.

With a new sense of determination, and fear of solitude, my fingers slowly type in the number. The phone rings for a while, and my hope is starting to dwindle.

The phone rings for the fifth time before the answering machine clicks on, and Mina's cheery voice fills the silence.

"Hey, hey! This is Mina Mongoose! Can't come to the phone right now because I'm probably at a music gig, but I'll hit you up when I get the chance! See ya!"

There's a beep, signaling to leave a message, but I just hung up. I can practically feel my hope dying with the closing of my phone. My only chance for comfort has been shattered.

I stop walking and lean against the wall of a nearby cloths shop, letting droplets of an upcoming rain shower fall onto my face. People are running past me, trying to look for shelter before the rain starts, but after a while they all seem to fade away…

And I'm back to feeling the way I did four months ago.

* * *

><p>It's 8:00 p.m and I'm hooking up my electric guitar to The Tune's stage amplifier. We had gotten here at 7:00, but there were a few bands ahead of us that were playing first. The last band to have played was called The Last Word, and they did a song called 'What Should've Happened'; you can imagine what mood that put me in. I take a glance at Mina, who is not too far from me. She's doing a quick practice run with the bass, sucking her teeth in anger at the fact that she couldn't sing instead.<p>

I turn the volume up a little on my guitar, positioning my fingers on the fretboard to see if it works. I strum, and the clear, melodic sound of a G major chord fills the practice room. I smile in approval, but also at Mina's frustration.

There's this sick, twisted feeling doing loops within my stomach though, and I'm about to yell. I knew that something was wrong, but I try to convince myself that maybe it's just an adrenaline rush. The Forget Me Knots and I are now entering backstage, literally packed like sardines next to this other band that's going on stage for first time. The new band is totally geeking out and making these weird breathing noises like they're about to have an asthma attack or something. Mina, Sharps, Max, and Mach are going over last minute rhythm issues while my eyes are still glued to the crowd. The curtains are right in front of us, making it easy for us to see crowd but practically impossible for the crowd to see us.

The feeling starts to worsen, and I cringe. You know that feeling that you get when you know you've forgotten something, but for the life of you, you can't remember what it was? It kind of feels like a part of you is missing, doesn't it? Well, imagine that, but mixed in with a bit of apprehension and low breathing room. I mentally do a check list of any needed items, and come to the conclusion that I hadn't forgotten anything.

Then why does it feel like a big part of me isn't present right now?

Mina taps my shoulder and motions for me to get ready. I strap on my guitar and give her a thumps up but inside I'm troubled.

"Are you ready for this?" she asks.

I stare at the wall for a while before answering.

"Yeah…"

"Remember, just be cool." she smiles, and this snaps something within me similar to how I felt at lunch with Tails and the others. A somewhat irritation starts to formulate within me, and my confident side starts to rise. Just be cool. Being cool and positive was pretty much all I was about! Where did this feeble, wimp side come from and when did I decide to let it in? I suck my teeth in aggravation at my sudden demise.

"Please, being cool is my lifestyle," I retaliate, totally impelled by my sudden change in zeal. "The Forget Me Knots are going to rock this thing."

"Sonic, its okay to be a little worried…" she reaches out to comfort me, but I back up in protest; I was practically shutting down any form of weakness that I could find.

"Worried?" The word disgusted me, "I'm sorry, have we met before? I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, remember?"

Mina recoils, seeming astounded, but relieved all the same. Suddenly the announcer introduces us onto the stage, and a thunder storm of applause resounds throughout the club. Mina turns back to me and laughs, saying "How could I expect anything less?", before walking off to take center stage. I follow her, driven by my rekindled sense of confidence.

"Be sure to keep up. I'm practically a celebrity here!" I manage to mention as we all begin to take the stage. "Wouldn't want anyone cramping my style."

Mina rolls her eyes, but there's a trace of a smirk on her lips. As we walk, there's enormous clapping for us, and a few cheers to the Freedom Fighters. The light above us is so blinding I can barely see the faces of the crowd, and the radiating heat is so intense that I'm practically sweating. The stage is so much higher than the ground; everyone and everything suddenly feel so insignificant compared to me. I can feel my fingers start to tremble a bit, but this time from exhilaration.

Mina then finds the mic, and she grabs it with such force and speed that I'm afraid she's going to bash me with it.

"HELLO MOBIANS! WE ARE 'THE FORGET ME KNOTS', AND WE ARE READY TO ROCK!"

Oh yes, how could I forget Mina's trademark, ear-shattering,presentation? No wonder her voice is messed up.

"ARE YOU?!" her voice was cracking, but everyone carried on like it was just another one of her performances.

She points the mic to the crowd; it was pretty much a routine now.

"YEAH!" they reply predictably.

Like anyone would say no…

"Awesome! Now give a warm welcome to our guest singer, the one and only…SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!" she turns to me, her arm outstretched, making the scene way more dramatic than it needed to be. I mean, everyone already knew who I was. But hey, whatever gets the show going, right?

This time, the clasps are almost ear-deafening, which is a drastic surprise considering Mina's volume just a second ago. I admit, I wasn't actually anticipating this type of response. I smile in gratitude, because no matter how expected it was, I was always a sucker for appreciation. People even begin to stand andwhistle, and the lights above were starting to glare off the windows, creating a bunch of sparkle-like particles in the air. It was a total mixture of adrenaline and buoyancy that I hadn't felt in a while; it was almost whimsical actually.

Mina smiles in triumph as she heads to the bass, and I can't help but mentally laugh at how enthusiastic she is when she wasn't even singing.

Before I know it, it's time to play.

The music from our instruments inhabits the whole room and the crowd goes quiet. I start to sway with the melody, and the song becomes one with me. From everything that has been happening, music seems to have been my only true escape. All the anxiety; all the worry about confidence; all of my thoughts have left me. It's just me right now… no one else.

And then I start to sing.

* * *

><p>"Dude, you did a killer job up there!"<p>

Mina shakes my shoulder vigorously, going on and on about how hyped the crowd was and how 'killer', 'awesome', or 'dynamic' my singing was. None of this is new to me, because she's been doing it every 5 minutes; literally still bouncing and squealing like we never left the stage.

"I still can't get over it!" Obviously…, "I mean, Sonic was all like, "Oooh", and the crowd was all like, "Aaah!", and—andeverything was so ecstatic, man!"

The rest of the band members and I are exchanging humorous smirks, while she continues to reminisce the event like it didn't just happen one hour ago. After the mini concert, we decided to book it after the third band. I couldn't take any more half-baked love songs talking about how they love the girl they hate or their love is with another man (yeah, that one sent an invisible arrow through my heart), so I told them that I needed some air; which for god's sake I did, because the air was so stuffy in there that I couldn't tell musk from perfume. Fortunately, Mina and the rest agreed, and now we're at the only café in Knothole that stays open later than midnight.

I recline in the red booth I was sitting in, starting to enjoy the moment. My thoughts didn't feel as weighted as they had this morning, and even though I knew that I was going to have to deal with the dread of tomorrow, I didn't care. I just wanted to take in the scene of having fun with friends and live in the moment. After all I've been through, I could at least get a little bit of leisure time, right?

A sudden flash outside catches my eye and I turn to look out the window to my right. It wasn't anything serious though, just a couple of street lights starting to come on.

It must be getting late.

My attention is driven back to Mina and the others as each of them are beginning to have a 'who can blow the most bubbles in their milkshake' competition. Yeah, you read that correctly;remember, these are not five year olds.

"You guys can't be serious…" my tone is disapproving, by my smile couldn't be any bigger.

"Oh come on Sonic, when did you get so mature?" Mina mumbles, not letting go of the straw in her mouth for even a second.

"Where are your manners? I mean, look at you guys!" I try to imitate a know-it-all mother that just saw her children doing something dastardly, like burping in public or not saying thank you, "You're not even doing it right."

Mina seems to catch on to the joke, and instantly stops her blowing to laugh. "Oh, we are so sorry, Mom! Please, show us what not to do! We need to be enlightened this second!"

"Well, first off, you guys didn't invite me. And second," I grasp the straw of my chocolate milkshake with my mouth, leaving just enough room for me to still talk, "Your blowing sucks."

"Hmph," Mina gives me determined grin, "So, it begins."

That was pretty much the signal to start, and we all began to blow into our drinks simultaneously. The competition overall didn't last long, but the judging on who's bubble tower was bigger was probably the most serious debate I've ever experienced. We each claimed our towers to be the tallest and even Mach, whose tower was clearly the smallest, tried to get in on the action. Sometimes we'd even pop the other person's bubbles, as if it was going to change anything. It was a very strange experience, but it was actually nice to act so immature.

"What are you talking about? Mine is clearly the winner!" Mach retaliates.

"I could make more bubbles in a bathtub, dude." Max takes his straw and decides to slurp some of Mach's milkshake, decreasing the already low bubble size to a mere zero. The whole scene was hilarious, but Mach's 'what the heck' face was what got to me.

I'm laughing so hard that my milkshake just might make a reappearance from my nose. Mina takes this chance to do the exact same thing to my milkshake and without hesitation I gulp down the rest of hers. Mach, Max, Mina, and I are all laughing up a storm, while Sharps just stares at us like we're high. Heh, we might as well be, considering the amount of sugar we've all just had.

"Oh gosh, brain freeze!" Mina whines; practically hiccupping from the little giggle spree she just had.

After we had all started to calm down, the mess of spilled milkshakes all over the table starts to dawn on us. We even got some complaints from the people around us that we were 'way too loud' and that we 'needed to leave', which was fine since we were about to anyway. As we clean up our mess, pay for our drinks and head outside, I thank them for the great time and we go our separate ways. But, of course, they don't understand how truly thankful I am for a great—actually, wonderful—time. I've been feeling so exhausted lately by the amount of things on my mind, that's it was nice to just forget about it for a while. I continue to walk in the direction of my house, but I have no plan on going there. Home just didn't feel like the place that I needed to be right now, and all that sugar was beginning to make me consider going nocturnal, so sleep was defiantly out of the question. It's so dark that it's becoming a struggle to see even ten feet in front of me, so I just follow the incandescent row of street lights. There's not a single soul lingering on the streets tonight, which is a little strange to me because I'm not use to being completely alone like this. It made me feel a little at ease, yet a little edgy all the same. Just the thought that anything could happen right now with no one knowing until morning was intriguing.

I subconsciously begin to replay the song that I sang at the concert in my head; counting my footsteps in a rhythm to match the beat.

1 and 2 and 3 and 4…

The concert itself was really good, but I was still dissatisfied with the overall outcome. Throughout the whole thing, I felt like I was missing something, and after doing a mental checklist for the about the tenth time, I realized that it wasn't an item; it was aperson. I wanted more than anything to see Amy's smiling face in the crowd, cheering me on the way she always did. Her zeal and optimism constantly gave me a much needed psychological advance no matter what it came to, and I missed that at the concert. It was just like how Mina's enthusiasm pumped up the crowd, but Amy managed to do that without the microphone. No matter the circumstances, Amy would also look on the bright side, and she wasn't afraid to give me a reality check when my heart wasn't in it to win it. But it's undoubtedly strange, though…

…somehow, Amy had gone from being my number one fan, to being my number one.

I can't help but laugh sometimes at the amount of confidence she has in me. She was the cheerleader at the football game that would scream the loudest and put her all into her performance to keep everyone else motivated; the extra little bit of chili that made the difference between a good and a great chilidog. Her constant worrying attention towards me might have gotten me irritated on many occasions, but I secretly began to long for it. A small smile begins to form on my lips as I begin to remember the day that she almost came close to crying just because I had tripped over a rock and twisted my ankle. She kept constantly nagging me that I needed to stay still, but of course I just considered her to be over-reacting like she always did. Boy, it's almost comical on how life can change so suddenly, isn't it? Back then, I couldn't stand the way she would baby me sometimes. Now, I wouldn't mind breaking both of my arms if it meant that I could see her care for me again. Even a glimpse of worry in her eyes would make me through the day, because as long as she cared, there was still hope for me. But…

If I continue to avoid her…then, her smile; her optimism; herlove…they wouldn't be for me anymore.

A sudden emotion fills my heart that stops me dead in my tracks: Jealousy—deep, angering, jealousy. My mind begins to make up scenes without warning, each of them containing Amy caring for Mighty; Amy laughing with Mighty; Amy cheering for Mighty, which would eventually lead up to Amy kissing Mi—.

I shake my head furiously, as if just by doing so the images would knock out of my head somehow. This is why I never walked. There were too many things to think about because of the lack of speed that I just wasn't into. I was so use to relying on Sally or Tails to do the thinking side of things that I just didn't find the point to it anymore…Which is exactly the reason why I'm in this mess in the first place. Because I didn't think.

There's an abandoned metal bench next to me, and I turn my head towards it like it was going to give me some sort of advice. Of course it doesn't, but its designed comfort and solitary location was more than enough. I knew that I had to actually think about my situation for once, and the bench just seemed to confirm this notion. I sit down and the coldness of the nightthat's been absorbed into the metal sends a small chill up my spine. Maybe it's the sugar talking, but it was almost like the bench was giving me a little reassurance. I breathe in the crisp night air and begin to wonder the many other souls that maybe contemplated their life issues on this very bench. Weird on how a bench was designed for rest and relaxation, but its sturdy framework could support even the depths of our problems and frustrations. The very emotions that others would crumple under, the bench never did. I smile; a little envious at its easy life. It never had to do anything, it was never overshadowed with the fate of the world, and it never had to face the problems of emotional stress. Heh, such the simple concept of something like bench could be taken for granted in a heartbeat.

Like love.

I cringe while the full power of the word finally starts to dawn on me. Love: it was just one syllable, but it was a syllable too soon or too late in many cases. It was the very thing that could make, or break, a relationship. That word has caused death and life all at the same time, and yet, it was nothing but just a four letter word. That word means a lot; it means a lot to Amy. But I left her without saying it back. Why? Why did the intensity of its meaning not present itself to me until now? Amy had probably put her whole energy—practically her whole being—into that one word. Was I scared? _Of course you were. You still are._ Could one word really do that to someone? _You'd think that after all the relationships you'd been through you'd know that by now._ I rest my head in the palms of my hands. They're freezing but I barely noticed it until now. Even if I did say it back, could I truly amount up to the expectations of it? This time my mind was silent, and I sigh in defeat. I didn't know the answers to the unknown, and normally that would excite me, but not this time. This type of unknown worried me, because all ofit's unfamiliar territory could cascade and envelope me any second…if it wasn't already.

All this thinking is driving me to the point of near exhaustion, and I'm unavoidably reminded as to why I never did it.

I need to fix this— _but what if I wasn't ready?_

I need to find her— _but rejection…rejection was always an option. I don't think I could handle it if…_

I…I need to—_do what I do best._

I…need…to—_run._

Before I even have time to contemplate on the idea, my legs are up and running. I keep telling myself that it was too late to talk to her anyway, and that I'll do it tomorrow.

But then again, I told myself this exact thing four months ago.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Wow, this was full of insane thoughts,huh? Sorry if it confused you, but I love things that involve fighting with your inner-self. Which is exactly what Sonic was doing near the end. Hope you're looking forward to the next chapter. I'll try to make it quicker than this one, haha<strong>_.


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